state university
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of state university
An Americanism dating back to 1825–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Otherwise they send their child to a cheaper state university.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Johns Hopkins offered $16,000 more, making the cost less than that of a state university in New York, where the family lives.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
A friend who teaches at a state university related to me that a student of his said he supported Trump “because he’s funny.”
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
They could then transfer those credits to their state university, and the cost of college could be cut in half.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2024
They played golf together and went out often—to movies, to the theater occasionally, to triple-A baseball games, and to the state university football games.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
